This Week's Cat Champions: St Francis Animal Rescue Center!

Our Cat Champions of the Week for August 9-15 are the folks at St. Francis Animal Rescue Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Chrissie, pictured here, is one of the almost 150 cats housed there.

St. Francis is a no-kill, cage-free shelter that rescues unwanted, abandoned and homeless cats in the York County and South Mecklenburg County areas, caring for the cats until they can find loving homes. Their innovative cage-free approach results in happy, well-adjusted cats who do not suffer like those confined to small cages for extended periods of time. Cats are social, sensitive creatures who like to explore, interact and bond with other cats. Visitors to St. Francis Animal Rescue Center always comment on how well their cats get along. Chrissie is one of their more shy residents, but most are very friendly.

This weekend, July 13-15, St. Francis will be holding their big Adoptapalooza event, where they'll be trying to find homes for at least 50 of their cats! The event will feature door prizes, entertainment and refreshment as visitors get to know the beautiful cats and kittens they have available for adoption. The center also holds an annual Blessing of the Animals to honor the feast day for St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

As do most shelters, St. Francis has the constant challenge of funding. They suffered an act of vandalism in July in which their front plate-glass window was broken in the night and a number of their cats escaped. Most were recovered safely, but are still frightened from the experience. And the window replacement bill was a whopping $700! They also struggle to pay their rent each month or face eviction. They accept donations through PayPal, and have sponsorships available for cats in their care. You can also help them by buying your cat supplies and accessories this week at OldMaidCatLady.com, so they'll receive 10% of the proceeds! C'mon...do it for little Chrissie and her friends!

Charity of the Week: LFAW

This week's charity on OldMaidCatLady.com is the League for Animal Welfare (LFAW) in Batavia, Ohio. Chartered in 1949, the LFAW’s mission is to better the lives of cats and dogs in the Greater Cincinnati area. They are a privately funded non-profit organization and depend on donations to fuel their operations.

There are approximately 80 cats housed at their facility. All have been tested for feline leukemia and feline AIDS, vet-checked and vaccinated. Cats over 10 weeks of age are also spayed or neutered, and each of them is given a name if they didn’t already have one. LFAW provides a loving, no-kill shelter until the animals are matched with a forever home. Each animal’s photo is put on LFAW’s website (pictured above is "Jake"), along with icons to indicate whether the cat has been declawed, or prefers homes without dogs, other cats, or small children. The needs of potential adopters are assessed to best match them with the appropriate resident, and the cats are all microchipped so they can easily find their way home if lost.

Their “My Last Hope” program was established to help older pets find forever homes. This program makes the pets, currently four cats named Fred, Figi, Qwerky, and Sunshine, available for no adoption fee and pays all their medical care for the remainder of their lives.

LFAW also promotes responsible pet ownership. Their website provides information on area clinics and facts on the effects of spaying and neutering. They partner with the UCAN Spay/Neuter Clinic to offer monthly transport from their shelter to the clinic. Each month, they have a spay/neuter assistance program with limited funds to help pet owners and caretakers of feral cat colonies through vouchers to reduce the cost of spay/neuter surgery. LFAW makes free presentations to schools, scout troops, libraries, church organizations, etc. to educate people on pet overpopulation, spaying and neutering, proper vet care, dog bite prevention, and playtime with animals. Presenters are usually accompanied by a dog and a cat from the shelter to demonstrate proper handling skills. LFAW’s website has information on training, finding homes for strays, and deciding what type of pet to adopt, along with links to other helpful sites.

LFAW is always happy to welcome new volunteers, as well. People as young as 16 may work with their cats without parental supervision, and those younger may volunteer if accompanied by a parent or guardian. Some volunteers work with the animals to socialize, train, play with, or just pet them. Others foster orphaned pets and manage satellite adoption events. A general orientation session for volunteers is followed by specialized cat training. Those interested in volunteering may e-mail the shelter at lfaw_vols@fuse.net.

When you shop at OldMaidCatLady.com June 7-13, 2010, 10% of the profits on items purchased through our shopping cart will be donated to LFAW. You're buying stuff for your cats anyway, so why not buy it here and help other cats who aren't so fortunate?